ABC’s “Nightline” Targets The AKC
A segment called “Best In Show” aired on Monday night’s episode of “Nightline”, is sure to have the AKC up in arms (or would that be paws?).
When the documentary “Pedigree Dogs Exposed” came out in the UK, the backlash was felt all through the Kennel Club. The BBC refused to televise the Crufts Dog Show. The Kennel Club is now working on reforming many of their regulations - see their “Fit For Function” campaign.
Now we have the AKC who essentially is refusing to defend the practices of some of their members - extensive inbreeding and breeding of dogs to physical standards that are detrimental to their health.
Photo by x442x
Patrick Burns, The Terrier Man has an excellent point - if most dogs are being bred to be family pets - health needs to come first (and most AKC dogs are bred as pets). It seems that many people equate their dog’s appearance directly to their ego and haven’t done the research into what makes a reputable breeder. However, it is ultimately the breeders themselves who need to reexamine their practices and how they go about attaining their goals. That being said, the AKC should look into and face up to the charges at hand. Creating tests for genetic conditions is all well and good, but it seems like it is trying to put a bandaid on an issue it caused.
Adding an outcross to a dog’s line to achieve a certain physical characteristic has been done to create all the breeds we know today - it isn’t the same as creating a “designer dog”, but is this the step that purebred dog breeders need to take?
You can watch the entire segment here
